By Janice Lewis

HUNTER COLLEGE, April 30 -- Long lines plague the financial aid office on any given day during the first few weeks of the semester. Students, including those on public assistance, with all kinds of questions and financial woes, stand and wait their turn.

"There has been some changes in financial aid and work study at senior colleges such as Hunter since last fall semester," says Daffodil Dennis, a campus financial aid counselor. She explained that the city's welfare department has revised its policies for college students who are parents receiving public assistance.

These students are automatically assumed eligible for financial aid. However, they need to obtain the approval of the college's human resources supervisor on their worksheet. They then must take to the case worker this approval and a letter confirming how many hours in they have spent in classes.
Current welfare policy requires recipients to participate in 35-hours in activities approved by the welfare department. Of these, up to 20 hours of must be Workfare and 15 additional hours may be federal work study and internships.

Students on welfare are expected to attend all classes and work sessions. If they are absent, the welfare department requires that campus administrators determine whether a student's absence is excusable by the department's standards.

"Nothing differentiates the ordinary student from the welfare recipient," says Valerie Kelly of the campus's human resources department. "It is only supposed that their income is minimal and they would qualify for the various grants available," she adds.

Kelly verifies and documents the number of hours used by these students for federal work study and internships.

Maxine Henry, a campus special projects coordinator, adds that financial aid is exempt from being counted as income by the welfare department and therefore the recipients' welfare checks are not reduced. Full-time students may apply for TAP and PELL grants and those attending part-time with at least six credits may apply for Aid to Part-Time Students and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants.